GUEST COLUMN: State has options besides raiding fund

Monday

It is with great regret that I stand in opposition to a governor I worked so hard to elect, and members of the Republican-led Legislature who are trying to bring positive change to state government

It is with great regret that I stand in opposition to a governor I worked so hard to elect, and members of the Republican-led Legislature who are trying to bring positive change to state government. However, the inability of our leaders to pass a balanced budget, except by a constitutional amendment that would take $437 million out of our state’s trust fund, is hardly a good reason for the people of Alabama to take nearly 20 percent of our trust fund to avoid an 8 percent cut in the General Fund budget. We are told that if we don’t pass this amendment, the sky will really fall, hospitals will close, prisoners will be released, and nursing homes will close and kick grandma to the street. It sounds a little bit like Democrats saying Paul Ryan wanted to push his own mother over a cliff with his modest reforms to federal budgets. All this over a possible $143 million cut to a $1.67 billion budget.Nobody thinks making additional cuts will be easy, but there are short- and long-term options to fix the mess. We elected new leadership to find solutions to the budgeting fiasco, not kick the can down the road by taking more money from the trust fund. We want Republicans in Montgomery to address the problems head-on, not dip into the trust funds like Democrats did twice before them.Among reasons not to approve this amendment are the fact that there is no provision to repay this money and that we haven’t yet repaid the nearly half-billion already borrowed out of the trust fund in prior years. Secondly, the trust fund earnings have been used and were intended to supplement operating budgets at the state and local level.The more money we have taken out of the fund, the smaller the earnings potential has been. This amendment will fundamentally alter the future earnings that will be generated for operations by diverting a larger share of existing royalties away from the trust fund principal.We also just took nearly $300 million out of the trust fund by using an accounting gimmick, so if this proposed amendment passes, we will have taken more than $700 million out of the corpus over a two-year period with no provision to repay it. As a CPA, I find this amount staggering, especially from an administration and leadership that promised real financial accountability.Over the short term, we can use unspent or future tobacco/oil spill settlements, sell unused state assets, eliminate unnecessary programs and sell the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Why is the state in the “liquor business” anyway, which is something the governor said we didn’t need to be involved with?For that matter, we could sell Alabama Public TV, as if that is really needed in today’s world of nearly unlimited cable, satellite, Netflix and other viewing options. Over the long term, we can reform Medicaid and save nearly $50 million per year, consolidate and eliminate overlapping taxes and regulations, and save up to $90 million per year offering early retirements. The fact is the governor can call a special session after voters reject this amendment, we can make initial reforms and start making structural changes that will get us out of this mess without raising taxes.All over the country, from Wisconsin and New Jersey, to Indiana, we have seen Republicans lead and make real changes to improve the financial health of their states without raising taxes. We shouldn’t pass a budget contingent upon taking 20 percent out of our Alabama Trust Fund. By voting “no” on Tuesday, the sky will not fall, and the governor and the Legislature can get together and make short-term changes to get us through next year (like the governor originally wanted to do). Then we can start getting the state out of things it has no business being involved with, offering buyouts to longtime employees, consolidating programs and acting more like taxpayers and small businesses that have had to make changes in how they operate over the past few years.No more “sugar highs” from Obama stimulus, no more “accounting gimmicks” and no more “kicking the can down the road” by taking more money out of our trust fund. Believe me, I have looked at the state’s budgets, have experienced its inefficiency and seen some of its waste firsthand.We can save the trust fund and balance the budget. It starts with a “no” vote on Tuesday. Join the Alabama Forestry Association, tea party members, Eagle Forum and fiscal conservatives all over the state and “Don’t Break the Trust.”

Don Wallace is a Tuscaloosa County Commissioner representing District 1, vice chairman of the Alabama Republican Party and a certified public accountant.

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